


The Other Crispino

by Songbirdsara



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, F/F, Happy Birthday Sara Crispino, Hasetsu, M/M, Oblivious Sara Crispino, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-13
Updated: 2019-09-13
Packaged: 2020-10-17 19:34:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20626391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Songbirdsara/pseuds/Songbirdsara
Summary: Being a twin isn't all its cracked up to be, but Sara is used to living in Mickey's shadow. Still, if the world is going to ignore her on her birthday, at least she can have a good time with the rest of the skaters still hanging around Hasetsu...If only she knew why everyone was being soniceto her!***A post-canon birthday fic for Sara Crispino; starring one oblivious Italian skater, a ninja castle, and the skate crew!





	The Other Crispino

_ “…And a happy 22nd birthday to Italian figure skater Michele Crispino from all of us here at NBCSports! Join us to see Crispino make his season debut at the Nebelhorn Trophy in two weeks!” _

_ “That’s right, Jim! Crispino’s had some great momentum the last couple of seasons, with an appearance at the Grand Prix Finals in 2014 and just barely losing out to Japan’s rising star Yuuri Katsuki last season. We’re sure his home country, and figure skating fans everywhere, are looking forward to seeing what this young man can achieve this…” _

Sara finally managed to snag the remote from where it had tumbled beneath the low table, changing the channel abruptly. Across the room, Georgi Popovich raised a heavy brow in surprise. “Sorry! Just wanted to catch up on, er…” She glanced frantically at the television screen. “The weather! Last chance for a bit of sightseeing and Victor won’t shut up about going to that Ninja Castle today, so…you know!”

The older man raised his other brow, but thankfully didn’t comment on her rambling before turning back to his breakfast. She counted herself lucky that, out of everybody still lingering at the Katsuki’s onsen, only the quiet Russian had been present for her brief moment of irrational jealousy. She barely knew Georgi Popovich and she highly doubted she was more than a blip on his radar; Georgi skated against _ Mickey_, after all. No reason for him to pay attention to his competitor’s twin sister.

Never mind that she’d held a higher ranking than Mickey for the last three seasons.

Never mind that it was _ her _ birthday, too.

Not that anybody ever seemed to remember that, unless she was joined at her twin’s hip. For most people, she was the _ other _ Crispino. An interesting side note to her brother’s career. And with Mickey already back in Italy to prep for his earlier start to the season, the likelihood was high that her 22nd birthday would pass unnoticed here in this quiet town.

“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself,” she muttered under her breath, pushing away her breakfast tray. Georgi glanced over but, once again, stayed silent. Like magic, Yuuri’s father was suddenly at her side, stooping down to gather her tray and beaming at her good naturedly.

“Sara-chan!” Mr. Katsuki said, before rattling something off in rapid-fire Japanese that had her blinking in confusion.

“Ummmm, _ tan jovial meadowtoes _to you, too!” she chirped, trying to match the older man’s easy smile.

Mr. Katsuki chuckled, patting her shoulder with his free hand before shuffling off. Sara shook her head, marveling once more at the kindness and hospitality of the Katsuki clan. Not only had they opened their doors to a veritable horde of skaters and family for Victor and Yuuri’s whirlwind wedding following the World Championships, but they’d invited many of those same skaters back for Victor’s summer ice show.

Pushing her way to her feet, she adjusted the tie on the loose pajama-like uniform worn by all of the Katsukis’ customers before padding out into the hallway. She raised her hand in greeting as she passed Yuuri’s sister.

“Oh. Good. Now I don’t have to track you down,” the older woman murmured flatly. “Here,” Mari continued, extending a pile of brilliant emerald floral printed cloth. “_Kaa-san _ and I thought you’d like it for your last couple days here.”

Sara shook out the cloth, revealing a delicate robe and sash. “Oh, how pretty!” she cooed.

“It’s a _ yukata_,” Mari said, then dug around in her uniform pockets, finally producing a little laminated card which appeared to be instructions for donning the robe. “You can wear it around town, or just in the onsen.” She stacked the little card on top of the pile of cloth, then stepped back, seeming pleased to have accomplished her tasks.

“Goodness, it’s lovely! Thank you,” Sara said, genuinely touched at the gesture. “I’ll have to wear it to see Hasetsu Castle later! Ummmm, should I just leave it in the laundry with the _ jinbei _ or do you want it somewhere else?”

Mari blinked, seeming nonplussed at the question for a moment, before a lazy grin slid across her face. “Nah, that’s for you. Not really my style, _ ne?” _She waved a vague farewell as she turned to walk away, leaving Sara clutching the unexpected souvenir in the center of the hallway.

Smiling softly, Sara made her way toward the room she’d been sharing with Mila, stroking the silky fabric as she walked. Her phone buzzed in her pocket and she tugged it free, frowning at the group message that her family had started. Joint birthday messages from her parents, a “good luck Mickey!” text from her uncle (presumably for Nebelhorn?), then a whole string of photos of Mickey surrounded by balloons and a cake…

Abruptly, she clicked off the screen, shoving it into her pocket as she reached the room. It had been her choice to stay in Hasetsu for an extended vacation before her season started in October. It was silly to be jealous of the attention her brother was receiving…

“_sDnem rozdenia!” _Mila exclaimed as she entered the room.

“Ummm, bless you?” Sara replied, setting her new yukata carefully down on the dresser.

“Oooooh, how pretty!” Mila chirped, bouncing up to prod at the fabric. “You have to wear it out today! You’ll look _ gorgeous _ in it!” That last was spoken with a hint of a sigh and Sara melted a bit. She and Mila had been dancing around a flirtation for the last year, though neither of them had made any serious moves to define their relationship. Yuuri and Victor were the spectacularly successful exception to the rule when it came to dating one’s international competition…

Still, when Mila leaned in to tuck her hair behind her ear, she found her pulse racing.

“Get dressed, _ printsessa_,” Mila murmured, breath warm on Sara’s lips before pulling away to rummage in her suitcase. Sara swallowed, but hastened into the tiny en-suite to comply. When she finally exited after carefully following the instructions on the laminated card, Mila was sitting on the sole stool, her leg bouncing as she waited.

“Oh. Oh, _ wow_,” the Russian skater muttered under her breath, bringing a rush of heat to Sara’s cheeks. “Um, okay, so it’s so not enough, but…this should match… _ Ihopeyoulikeit!” _ Mila said in a rush, bouncing up and pressing something into Sara’s hastily outstretched hands.

She glanced down, the crinkling of tissue paper loud in the suddenly quiet room. Hesitantly, she picked through the layers to reveal a skate, a snowflake and a little blue stone winking up at her from the mass of slim silver bangles cupped in her hands. She looked up, confused. “They’re lovely, Mila, but…”

“I know they’re just something little, but I saw them and thought of you so…” A hint of pink colored Mila’s ears as she stammered out an explanation and Sara’s heart skipped a beat. “You don’t have to wear them, but I thought…”

Sara clutched the bracelets to her chest. “I love them! Thank you! But…I…I don’t have anything for you…”

Mila glanced up, surprise clear in her wide blue eyes. “Well, I mean, of _ course _ you don’t, silly, why would…”

A loud knocking interrupted whatever she was going to say, and Mila pulled away to answer the door as Sara hastily discarded the tissue paper and pulled on the bangles, more than a little confused.

“Ugh, _ finally_, _ Baba! _ Why do girls take so long to get ready? Everyone else is already downstairs!”

Sara glanced up, catching sight of Otabek hovering in the hallway behind an indignant Yuri Plisetsky. The Russian Punk was going through a growth spurt, and Sara had to restrain a slight giggle at the stretch of ankle visible beneath the hem of his aggressively patched plaid trousers.

As she moved into view, Otabek nodded in her direction and Yuri muttered something that sounded vaguely like Mila’s earlier exclamation before turning and stomping down the hall, clearly expecting the girls to follow suit. Mila shook her head as she smiled back at Sara, fondness warring with amusement in the Russian woman’s expression as they trailed out of the room behind the other pair. 

Yuuri, Victor, Georgi and Phichit were waiting for them in the lobby, the couple waving in greeting while the Thai skater spoke animatedly with someone on his phone screen. 

“Oh! Seung-gil! Here she is! Say hi to Sara!” Phichit said, flipping his screen to reveal a familiar, scowling face. 

“Hi,” the Korean skater said begrudgingly.

“Ah, hiiii, Seung-gil!” she called back with a little wave. 

There was a long beat before Phichit cleared his throat. 

“Right. Have...fun,” Seung-gil finally said as the Thai skater beamed in approval.

“Um, right! Uh, you too?” Sara replied, bewildered as Phichit turned the phone back toward himself, ending the call with a cheerful farewell. “I honestly think that’s the most he’s ever said to me at one time,” she muttered to Mila in a stage whisper.

“It’s more than he’s _ ever _ said to me,” Victor chimed in, his own stage whisper ridiculously loud, earning a glare from Phichit.

“You just don’t have my charm,” the cheerful man sniffed. He turned to Sara with a sparkling grin and dropped into a little half-bow, hands clasped in front of him as he chattered briefly in his native tongue.

“Oh, ahhhh, right back at you!” Sara quipped, attempting to imitate Phichit’s actions. The man squeaked excitedly in response.

“Ohmygod. So cute! And look at you! Totally Insta worthy! Selfie!” He somehow already had his phone mounted to a selfie stick, which he extended with gusto. Sara was surprised to feel the entire crew slumping against her, Mila and Phichit on either side of her as Victor, Yuuri, Georgi, Otabek and even Yuri Plisetsky crowded into the photo. 

Soon, Yuuri and Victor were leading the way out the door, the rest of the skaters a chattering mass behind them. Sara felt her phone vibrate in the little handbag she’d grabbed but found she was having too much fun listening in to the swirling conversation to bother digging it out. The walk was pleasant, the breeze off the ocean tempering the September heat as they crossed the blue bridge and climbed the hill toward Hasetsu Castle. Sara was mesmerized by the landscaping as they ascended, the wisteria covered trellises enchanting her almost as much as the views. Phichit dragged her into countless photos, Yuuri offered insightful commentary (with Victor chiming in every time ninjas were mentioned) and she was touched when Yuri and Otabek awkwardly presented her with a little keychain from the souvenir shop. 

The afternoon was capped off when Yuuri led the group to a tiny bar, a familiar woman waving from behind the counter as they entered.   


“Drinks on me!” Victor called out. “Except for Yura, he’s still too young.” 

Yuri snarled as the smirking woman passed him a glass bottle of soda before pouring for the older skaters. Sara accepted her cup of sake with a smile of thanks, already reaching for the little bowl of snack mix that Minako had placed on the bar top.

“This was fun,” she mused aloud, her grin widening when Mila bumped her shoulder companionably.

“Oh! Minako-sensei! Do you have that package I left here?” Yuuri asked, smiling his thanks when Minako produced a prettily wrapped package from behind her register. “Sorry, I wasn’t sure what sort of animals you liked best,” he continued apologetically, handing it off to Sara. “So, it’s just like mine, but purple?”

Sara glanced around in confusion, feeling like she was missing something crucial as she unwrapped a terry-cloth bag and pulled out a set of poodle-shaped soakers.

“Cute!” Phichit squeaked. “Yuuri gave me a set of hamster ones for Christmas a couple years ago! There’s a lady who custom makes them here! They’re the best!”

“I…_ thank _ you, Yuuri, but…”

“Oh!” Phichit gasped, cutting her off. “Emil surprised Mickey for his birthday!” He flashed a picture on his phone, Emil’s dopey grin eclipsing Mickey’s confused expression.

“How…nice…” Sara murmured vaguely, still turning the soakers over in her hand. A hand passed in front of her face and she glanced up, meeting Victor’s knowing gaze.

“Yuuri won’t do shots with me,” he pouted, holding a tiny glass in her direction invitingly. She took it, feeling increasingly lost.

“Um, _ saluti?” _ she said, tentatively clinking her glass against his and throwing back the burning liquor.

In the corner of the bar, Yuuri was attempting to wrestle away Phichit’s selfie stick while Mila and Georgi egged them on. Otabek and Yuri were sharing a pair of earbuds nearby, lost in an incomprehensible discussion of music. Sara felt a surge of warmth flooding her as Minako refilled the shot glasses. She turned, meeting Victor’s warm gaze once more.

“I don’t know why you all are being so nice to me,” she said softly. “But…thank you.”

Victor’s smile broadened and he reached out to ruffle her hair. “It’s what friends _ do_, Sara,” he said quietly, his gaze shifting to fondly watch his husband’s increasingly frantic attempts to stop Phichit’s selfie abuse. Her phone buzzed, long since forgotten in her bag. Victor smiled once more in her direction before downing his shot and wandering off to rescue Yuuri.

“Are you going to answer that at some point?” Minako finally asked pointedly, wiping up a few stray splashes with a towel.

“Oh! Sorry!” Sara yelped, abandoning her new soakers in favor of retrieving her incessantly buzzing phone. She pulled it out, finally noticing the dizzying array of notifications. She muted them, pulling up Mickey’s number to send a belated birthday greeting before opening up her Instagram and perusing her twin’s latest post.

“S’not a _ bad _ photo, _ per se,_” Phichit suddenly drawled beside her ear, causing her to drop the phone to the counter with a yelp of surprise. “Though, I dare say yours had a _ far _ superior photographer.”

Mila came up on her other side, leaning her head on Sara’s shoulder and reaching over to scroll down the page on Sara’s phone. “Hmmmm, _ I’d _ say the subjects were the superior aspect, really.”

A lump suddenly caught in Sara’s throat as she saw the photo Phichit had taken at the beginning of the day. She was beaming in the center, surrounded by some of figure skating’s finest…a group she was beginning to realize were so much more than just colleagues.

“Oh,” she whispered, covering her mouth in surprise as happy tears sprang to her eyes, suddenly viewing the entire day through a vastly different light.

“I mean, as far as captions go, _ Happy Birthday, Sara _ isn’t terribly original,” Phichit said critically, frowning down at the photo, “but it does the job.” 

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> This fic is dedicated to @__makesmeforget and @PeppiestBismilk and everyone else on Twitter cheering for more Sara content in the fandom! 
> 
> Fic Beta-read by [PeppyBismilk](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PeppyBismilk/pseuds/PeppyBismilk) who is also my fantastic collaborator on Swordplay and Seamen: Tales of the High Seas. Check out the series if you like goofy pirate puns and a whole boatload of innuendo!


End file.
